After the group had walked some distance, they suddenly noticed that all the people around them had vanished.
Strangely, the stalls were still there.
The next instant, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Dark crossbow bolts swarmed toward them.
In a flash, everyone became a target.
They were pierced by one bolt after another.
The bolts came so fast that these Qi Refining Practitioners had no time at all to prepare.
Even if they hastily blocked a few, bolts poured in like rain from every direction.
These Xuan Crossbows were thick and heavy, made specifically to deal with cultivators.
Once their bolts were fired, even protective true qi would be shattered, and even a qi barrier could not withstand them.
Let alone these few Qi Refining Practitioners.
The enormous tiger became a living target, skewered into a hedgehog.
The old man leading them had the highest cultivation. He roared as he fought off the bolts, then took to his heels.
Just as he was about to break free, two figures flashed past, one on either side.
They were warriors from the army, and neither had a higher cultivation than the old man.
But they coordinated well, and within a few exchanges-
The old man who had been so aggressive just moments earlier became a corpse.
Guards wearing light armor and face coverings began methodically clearing away the bodies and blood on the ground.
In the time it took to drink half a cup of tea, everything returned to normal.
A little later, the stallholders reappeared.
As though nothing had happened at all.
Up on the third floor, Li Ping'an took a sip of tea.
Sure enough, one had to keep a low profile.
The tree that rose above the forest would be battered by the wind.
Jing Yu said, "With the Eldest